Comment: Endings and beginnings are critical moments in life. Our passage from 1 Kings is both an ending and a beginning. David has died and his rule over Israel has ended. Solomon has succeeded David as king and his rule over Israel is just beginning. Solomon must make the difficult decision about what kind of king he will be for Israel. In a dream encounter with God, Solomon makes the decision to be a king that cares for his people. Here’s to You, America! places the Peanuts gang at the constitutional convention in 1787. This convention comes at the end of British rule, and the beginning of self-rule. They watch and observe as the delegates make all the important decision that will define the United States. These moments in the beginning of Solomon’s rule, and of the United States are important defining moments and must be approached with care and intentionality, and both Solomon and the delegates make the decision to set up the government in a way that will care for the people of the state.

Comment: Daisy is surrounded by thankfulness from her parents. Each morning Daisy’s dad days “Thank you, God, for this beautiful Day.” Through Thank you, God, For Everything, Daisy thinks about all the things and experiences that she could give thanks to God for, and in the end decides to thank God for everything. Daisy is living in an attitude of thanksgiving. G. Porter Taylor describes this attitude of thanksgiving Daisy is living and Paul is encouraging us to have as an attitude that “requires a radical openness to existence.” (Feasting on the Word, Year B, Volume 3, p 354) We are to keep our eyes open, so that we can see God at work in everything throughout our day and life. For Paul, the Christians in Ephesus are to live their life in a way that points to God in all they do. One of the central ways to do this is to live in an attitude of thanksgiving.

Comment: For the third week in a row, the lectionary passage draws our attention to bread. Bread is a staple in the diet of all those who would have been around Jesus, and continues to be a staple in the diet of many around the world today. The passage begins with Jesus stating that he is “the living bread that came down from heaven”(v 51) and when we eat the living bread we will live forever. Using vivid photos and simple words, Ann Morris and Ken Heyman in Bread Bread Bread draw our attention to the ways in which bread is a staple for people all over the world. They highlight similarities and differences in the ways we make bread and the ways we eat bread. Joy and satisfaction are emitting from the people in the photographs. Life is experienced through bread and when we break bread together we can experience the living bread.